Have you ever had your tap water catch on fire? This and other strange signs of massive pollution are hitting the United States as the largest natural gas drilling boom in history sweeps the country. Using a Halliburton developed technology called “fracking,” or hydraulic fracturing, companies across the nation are tapping into a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” just below the surface of many states. But is fracking safe? Legislation in 2005 literally abolished any need for industry to follow the standards of the Safe Drinking Water, Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, so when filmmaker Josh Fox was asked to lease his land for drilling, he set off across the country to find out the consequences of this new technique. [Read more...]
GASLAND: Documenting Fire in the Water
Oedipus: A Greek Myth… Starring Vegetables
The mythical Greek tale, Oedipus, starring a potato, broccolli, caulifluar and tomato. This stop motion film, produced over a 2 year period using over 100 volunteers, features highly detailed hand built sets and post production donated by Industrial Light + Magic… not bad for an 8 minute short. Get a detailed look at what went into this film in the ‘making of’ and full storyboard films below.
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Outlandish Claims through History
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers,” Arthur Watson, Head of IBM, 1943.
We think this inspiring advertisment from Mercedes hits all the right points. The clip, set to moving music and featuring great vintage film footage, quotes noteworthy historical figures, all of which made doubtful remarks about now commonplace technology.
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Iconic Films Caught in the Moment
“What do you do for recreation? … Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.”
The Big Lebowski (1998)
If you could take one moment from a favorite film and watch it forever, what would it be? These amazingly well done animated GIF’s from the excellent blog If We Don’t, Remember Me, do just that. By trapping the characters from these films in short looped moments they come partially to life, bringing with them either a vague feeling of unease or cyclical humor. To see many more animations, with new editions added frequently, see iwdrm.tumblr.com or get updates via twitter @iwdrm.
Documenting the San Francisco Rave Scene
If you were around San Francisco in the 90′s, it was impossible to escape the colorful, joyous parties of the exploding rave scene. The influence these massive parties had was world wide, still reverberates today and for many was a life changing experience. Now the creative crew at MoFilms.org are working on a full length documentary, focusing on the people that experienced those events firsthand and had their lives shaped by the hopeful, yet often misunderstood movement.
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Our Mr. Sun: Vintage Science Film Infographics
Our Mr. Sun is a campy scientific video from 1956 expounding on the many wonders of our galaxy’s very own star. Combining live action with animation, it features creative infographics describing the influence of the sun on humankind. Check out the graph of population growth at 35:15 and new ideas about solar technology. We’ve come a long, long way.
The film was originally telecast in 1956 and 1957 to 9 million homes; some 600 16mm prints were distributed to schools and community organizations.
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The 4 Icon Challenge: Movie Posters
Kyle Tezak really enjoys the art of creating icons. Intriqued by the challenge of distilling information down to a small image, composed of a few simple lines. “That is what’s so great about icons, they’re tiny poems,” he says. Recently he’s challenged himself to creating representations of his favorite books, movies and historical events, using only 4 icons. His results are spartan, legible and eye-catching.
Check back by Kyle Tezak’s website, because he’s promising more icon challenges in the near future.
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Ghostbusters Trailer Mixed with the Inception Score
What do you get when you combine the tension-filled score of the movie Inception with the visuals from the classic comedy Ghostbusters? It seems something far more serious and scary. This video demonstrates just how influential a soundtrack is in guiding the overall feel of a movie. [Read more...]
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Christopher Nolan’s Flowchart for Inception
With the amazing movie Inception recently out on DVD and Blu-ray, we here at VisualNews have had those wild plot twists and turns flashing through our heads all over again. To satisfy our daydreams, we turned to a book about the movie that’s been out for a few months now: Inception, The Shooting Script. Choice bits inside are a 10 page interview with director Christopher Nolan and most satisfying of all, a hand drawn flowchart depicting the entire concept of the film.
To see a larger version of Nolan’s drawing, click the image below.
Source: incontention.com via Flowing Data
Cloudscapes: A Walk Into the Clouds
As children, we often dream of flying up and touching the clouds; looking skyward, they seem almost within reach. Now, through a collaboration between Japanese architect Tetsuo Kondo and German climate engineering firm Transsolar, that dream has become reality. By using three different levels of air with different temperatures and humidities the team has successfully created a cloud that hangs like magic on the roof of the space. Visitors to the 800 square meter room at the Architecture Biennale Arsenale exhibition travel up, through and above the clouds on spiraling ramps. It’s as if they’ve been given wings.
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